


the eye in the dark, the weight of its gaze

by Silvereye



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Drabble Sequence (kind of), Gen, Mild Space Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-29 18:03:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19405390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvereye/pseuds/Silvereye
Summary: The watcher in the dark sees a blue star.After the end of Ragnarok, something notices the Tesseract in space. (Also the Asgardians, or one of them.) This is not strictly a good thing





	the eye in the dark, the weight of its gaze

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Snickfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snickfic/gifts).



The watcher in the dark sees a blue star.

Blue stars are not rare. Uncommon, but not that hard to find. This one is exceptional, bright and oddly folded. It weighs on the world when the watcher looks at it in all eleven dimensions. In the three easy ones it is microscopic. This is fascinating. The watcher moves closer.

They notice that the star is lying in a little pond. An inconsequential one. There is only one inhabitant old enough to count as sentient, but the watcher would not want to upset this one nonetheless, so they are very careful.

*

Thor finds Heimdall in the common area, standing in front of the largest window.

"The ship seems alright," he says for a greeting. "Hulk and Valkyrie broke a storeroom sparring, but Loki fixed it. How is the outside?"

"There is something out there," Heimdall says. "I don't think it's hostile. Simply watchful."

"What is it?" Thor glances at Heimdall, then at the dim star field outside. He can't see anything. The stars are as unremarkable as they have ever been, but Heimdall is a watchman and Thor is not.

Heimdall shrugs. "Nothing I have seen before. But as I said, it has not done anything other than watch us."

Thor nods.

"My king," Heimdall says after a while, and while his tone is mild something in it makes Thor's hair stand on end. "Is there any particular reason you have been standing with your back to me this entire time?"

*

"This is bullshit," Valkyrie says, dangling a bottle in her hand. She's been sober for a few days now, but this situation calls for a drink. Thor would like one himself. "We stare him square in the face and he thinks our backs are turned. It isn't us."

"He has had the sight since before I was born. He can miss things, sometimes, but he doesn't... see wrong. Not like this."

"Thor," Valkyrie says. "Are you going to bet that every Asgardian is addled and doesn't know it, instead of something fucking with him?"

Thor grimaces. "I'll speak with Loki."

*

Loki's face is still. His hands are restless. "Thor," he says quietly. "Whatever is strong enough to misdirect Heimdall's sight in this manner could easily overpower me as well. Some beings outmatch me. You should know it."

"You don't have to invite it to single combat," Thor says.

"It's also more precise than I am, given the... specificity of what Heimdall sees."

"And invisible. I cannot see it. Valkyrie went outside and she didn't find anything either. Neither of us knows anything about magic and you're the best mage aboard, so I thought maybe..."

Loki considers it. Thor wants to say he doesn't have to do this. He can't, though. Loki is the only one who might be able to and someone must, so he kind of has to.

"Heimdall did say it didn't intend us harm," Loki says slowly, and Thor wonders which one of them he's convincing.

*

"Do you know anything else about the- the being that watches us?" Loki asks.

"I know you think its gaze is altering mine," Heimdall says, almost tetchily. He takes a breath. "No, not much. It hasn't done anything but watch us. Most of it is folded into some other void. It's vast, most likely, vaster than Asgard was. More ancient than I am. I think it can only really see beings or things that are old enough and I'm older than anyone on the ship."

"Allfathers," Loki says faintly.

"It's curious," Heimdall says. "It thinks it sees a blue star."

*

The more the watcher in the dark looks at the blue star the more it thinks the star doesn't so much weigh on the world as it *is* the world, like the matter in a galaxy filament is the filament, not something indistinct weighing on it. Again, curious, for such a small object.

Something shifts in the seventh-dimension aura of the star. A small voice says: _can you hear me?_

 _Yes_ , the watcher in the dark says, surprised. _You aren't the being in the pond and you aren't the star. Who are you?_

There is a silence. Then the voice says: _it doesn't matter. The being in the pond. You're hurting him with your gaze._

 _I was careful_ , the watcher in the dark protests.

 _It didn't work_ , the voice says after another silence. _We are very fragile compared to you_.

 _Alright_ , the watcher says, a little disappointed. _I shall leave_.

*

"Heimdall," Loki whispers when he can speak again. His head feels like it's going to very literally split. He's never going to thread his mind through the Tesseract again.

"I'm here," Heimdall says, quiet enough it doesn't hurt. "Your spell worked. My sight went back to normal when the being left."

"It tried to help," Loki says.

Heimdall hums. "It saw the Tesseract, didn't it?"

Loki sighs and does not try to nod.

"I'm not going to tell Thor you saved it," Heimdall says, amused. "You should, though. I don't know how many curious things are out there."

Loki groans.


End file.
